THE NORTH MOORS About the Author Paddy Dillon is a prolific walker and guidebook writer, with over 90 guidebooks to his name and contributions to 40 other titles. He has written extensively for many different outdoor publica- tions and has appeared on radio and television. Paddy uses a tablet computer to write his route descriptions while walking. His descrip- tions are therefore precise, having been written at the very point at which the reader uses them. Paddy is an indefatigable long-distance walker who has walked all of Britain’s National Trails and several major European trails. He lives on the fringes of the Lake District and has walked, and written about walking, in every county throughout the British Isles. He has led guided walks and walked throughout Europe, as well as in Nepal, Tibet, Korea, Africa and the Rocky Mountains of Canada and the US. Paddy is a member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild and President of the Backpackers THE Club.

Other Cicerone guides by the author 50 WALKS IN THE NATIONAL PARK Glyndwr’s Way Walking and Trekking in Iceland by Paddy Dillon Mountain Walking in Mallorca Walking in County Durham The and the Walking on Madeira Wolds Way Walking in Menorca The GR20 Corsica Walking in Sardinia The GR5 Trail Walking in the Isles of Scilly The Great Glen Way Walking in the North Pennines The Irish Walking on Arran The Mountains of Ireland Walking on Gran Canaria The National Trails Walking on Guernsey The North York Moors Walking on Jersey The Pennine Waye Reivers Way Walking on La Gomera and El Hierro The South West Coast Path Walking on La Palma The Teesdale Way Walking on Lanzarote and The Wales Coast Path Fuerteventura Trekking in Greenland Walking on Malta Trekking in Mallorca Walking on Tenerife Trekking in the Alps Walking the Galloway Hills JUNIPER HOUSE, MURLEY MOSS, OXENHOLME ROAD, , CUMBRIA LA9 7RL www.cicerone.co.uk © Paddy Dillon 2019 Second edition 2019 CONTENTS ISBN: 978 1 85284 951 1 First edition 2005 Map key...... 7 Overview map...... 8 Printed by KHL Printing, Singapore A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. INTRODUCTION ...... 11 Brief history of the moors...... 11 North York Moors industries...... 15 © Crown copyright 2019 OS PU100012932 Getting to the North York Moors...... 19 All photographs are by the author unless otherwise stated. Getting around the North York Moors...... 20 Accommodation...... 21 Food and drink...... 21 When to walk...... 22 Maps of the routes...... 22 National park visitor centres...... 23 Tourist information centres...... 25 Emergency services ...... 25 Updates to this Guide Using this guide...... 25 While every effort is made by our authors to ensure the accuracy of guide- THE TABULAR HILLS...... 27 books as they go to print, changes can occur during the lifetime of an edi- Walk 1 , Hackness and the Forge Valley...... 29 tion. Any updates that we know of for this guide will be on the Cicerone Walk 2 Hackness, Broxa and Whisper Dales...... 34 website (www.cicerone.co.uk/951/updates), so please check before plan- Walk 3 Lockton, Stain Dale, Saltergate and Levisham Moor ...... 37 ning your trip. We also advise that you check information about such Walk 4 Levisham and the Hole of Horcum...... 43 things as transport, accommodation and shops locally. Even rights of way Walk 5 Levisham Station, Levisham and Newton-on-Rawcliffe. . . . . 48 can be altered over time. We are always grateful for information about any Walk 6 Hutton-le-Hole, Lastingham, Cropton and Appleton-le-Moors. . . 52 discrepancies between a guidebook and the facts on the ground, sent by Walk 7 Gillamoor, Boonhill Common and Fadmoor...... 57 email to [email protected] or by post to Cicerone, Juniper House, Walk 8 Newgate Bank, Rievaulx Moor and Bank...... 60 Murley Moss, Oxenholme Road, Kendal, LA9 7RL. Walk 9 Helmsley, Beck Dale and Ash Dale...... 64 Register your book: To sign up to receive free updates, special offers Walk 10 Hawnby Hill and Easterside Hill...... 68 and GPX files where available, register your book atwww.cicerone.co.uk . THE HAMBLETON HILLS...... 71 Walk 11 Rievaulx Abbey and Old Byland...... 74 Walk 12 Byland Abbey, Mount Snever and ...... 78 Walk 13 , Gormire Lake and the White Horse ...... 82 Walk 14 Osmotherley, Thimbleby, Siltons and Black Hambleton . . . . . 87

THE ...... 92 Front cover: Looking across Bilsdale from high on Rievaulx Moor (Walk 8) Walk 15 Osmotherley, Beacon Hill and High Lane...... 94 Map key

Walk 16 Chop Gate, and Cock Howe...... 98 THE ...... 234 Walk 17 Chop Gate, , and Cold Moor ...... 102 Walk 47 Osmotherley, , Cringle Moor and Hasty Bank. . . 237 Walk 18 Kildale, Ingleby Moor and Battersby Moor ...... 106 Walk 48 Clay Bank, Urra Moor, Bloworth Crossing and Blakey. . . . . 242 Walk 19 Kildale, Leven Vale, Baysdale and Hograh Moor...... 110 Walk 49 Rosedale Head, Hamer, Wheeldale Moor and Simon Howe. . . 246 Walk 50 Eller Beck, Lilla Howe, Jugger Howe Moor and Ravenscar . . . 251 THE NORTHERN MOORS...... 113 Walk 20 Great Ayton, Easby Moor and ...... 115 Appendix A Route summary table...... 255 Walk 21 Guisborough, Gisborough Moor and Hutton Village...... 119 Appendix B Useful contacts...... 259 Walk 22 Danby, Siss Cross, Commondale and Castleton...... 123 Walk 23 Scaling Dam, Clitherbeck, Danby and Beacon Hill...... 127

THE HIGH MOORS...... 132 Walk 24 Chop Gate, Cock Howe, Ryedale and Wetherhouse Moor . . . 134 Route symbols on OS map extracts Walk 25 Chop Gate, Tripsdale, Bransdale and Bilsdale...... 139 Walk 26 Low Mill, Harland, Rudland Rigg and West Gill...... 144 route Walk 27 Church Houses, Bloworth Crossing and Moor. . . . . 148 alternative route Walk 28 Hutton-le-Hole, Ana Cross, Spaunton Moor and Lastingham. . . 152 Walk 29 Rosedale Abbey, Hartoft, Lastingham and Ana Cross...... 156 link route/detour Walk 30 Rosedale Ironstone Railway around Rosedale Head ...... 159 Walk 31 Rosedale Ironstone Railway from Blakey to Battersby. . . . . 163 start/finish point Walk 32 Westerdale, Fat Betty, Westerdale Moor and Esklets ...... 167 start point Walk 33 Danby, Castleton, Botton Village and Danby Rigg...... 172 Walk 34 Lealholm, Heads, Glaisdale Moor and Glaisdale Rigg. . . . . 176 finish point Walk 35 Glaisdale Rigg, Egton High Moor and Egton Bridge...... 181 route direction THE EASTERN MOORS...... 186 Walk 36 Goathland, Simon Howe, Wheeldale and Mallyan Spout. . . . 188 for OS legend see printed OS maps Walk 37 Rail Trail from Moorgates to Goathland and Grosmont. . . . . 192 GPX files Walk 38 Goathland, Sleights Moor and Whinstone Ridge...... 196 for all routes can be downloaded free at Walk 39 Goathland, Eller Beck, Lilla Howe and Goathland Moor. . . . 199 www.cicerone.co.uk/951/GPX Walk 40 Chapel Farm, Lilla Howe and Jugger Howe Beck ...... 203 Walk 41 Sleights, Ugglebarnby, Falling Foss and Littlebeck...... 206

THE CLEVELAND COAST...... 209 Walk 42 Runswick Bay, Hinderwell, Staithes and Port Mulgrave. . . . . 211 Walk 43 Runswick Bay, Kettleness and Goldsborough ...... 215 Walk 44 , Saltwick Bay, Robin Hood’s Bay and Hawsker. . . . . 219 Walk 45 Robin Hood’s Bay, Boggle Hole and Ravenscar...... 225 Walk 46 Cloughton, Staintondale, Ravenscar and Hayburn Wyke. . . . 229

7 The North York Moors Overview map

Saltburn Overview map Staithes Loftus A66 A174 dm Runswick Bay

Guisborough dn A171 - Whitby Great Ayton bu bm bn A19 Northern C Kildale le Danby Moors v , Sleights e Great la do Broughton cn Grosmont n cm d Robin Hood’s Bay + dl A172 Glaisdale C cr o ds co a * s cp cp s ill . t Ravenscar ) H Goathland cs dp nd dr ela Blakey eu lev Chop Gate ct A171 ( C br cu dt cq dq Osmotherley bp du bo HighHigh Moors Moors Eastern Moors bq Cloughton & Fangdale Beck bs bt 4 H 2 a m 5 3 A19 ! 7 Hutton-le-Hole b 8 Tabular Hills Hackness Lockton le 6 Scarborough t Hawnby 1 o Tabular Hills n H A170 A170 Ayton il 9 ls # % Thornton-le-Dale Helmsley Pickering A168 A64 N Kilburn $ A19 NorthNorth York York Moors Moors National National Park Park A165 0 5 10 km A64 A1(M)

8 9 The North York Moors

INTRODUCTION

This guidebook offers 50 walks in the national park could furnish you the varied landscape of the North with many more splendid ones from a York Moors National Park. The park stock of 1770km (1100 miles) of pub- was designated in 1952 and cov- lic footpaths and bridleways. ers 1432km2 (553 square miles) of People have crossed the North land, comprising the largest continu- York Moors since time immemorial, ous expanse of heather moorland in and some of their routes survive to this . The moors are of no great day. Stout stone crosses were planted height yet offer a wonderful sense of to assist travellers and traders with a spaciousness, with extensive views safe passage, and these days practi- under a ‘big sky’. There are also deep cally all rights of way are signposted verdant dales where charming scenes and walkable, although some routes and hoary stone buildings can be are used far more than others. found, as well as a remarkable cliff Despite having the appearance of coastline designated as the North a wilderness, this area has often been, Yorkshire and Cleveland Heritage and remains to this day, a working Coast. The long-distance Cleveland landscape. The moors are scarred and Way wraps itself around the moors quarried in places by man’s search for and coast, but there are many other mineral resources, and the heather walks that explore the rich variety of cover requires year-round manage- the area, focusing on its charm, his- ment for the sport of grouse shooting. tory, heritage and wildlife. Walkers with enquiring minds will The walks are distributed through quickly realise that the human history seven regions within the park, ena- and settlement of the moors, even at bling walkers to discover and appreci- its highest points, stretches back over ate the Tabular Hills, Hambleton Hills, thousands of years. Our own enjoy- Cleveland Hills, Northern Moors, ment of the moors, in contrast, may High Moors, Eastern Moors and be nothing more than a transient Cleveland Coast. For those who like pleasure. a challenge, the course of the classic Lyke Wake Walk, crossing the national park from east to west, is also offered, BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MOORS split over a four-day period to allow a leisurely appreciation of the moors. Early settlement Almost 725km (450 miles) of walking The first people to roam across the Sheep grazing has ensured that the dales have been close cropped for centuries routes are described here, although North York Moors were Mesolithic

10 11 The North York Moors Brief history of the moors

Wall kept the Picts at bay to the north, tradition was founded at Whitby. but the east coast was open to inva- Whitby Abbey was notable for one sion by the Saxons, so the Romans of its early lay brothers, Caedmon, built coastal signal stations in ad368 who was inspired to sing, and whose at Hartlepool, Hunt Cliff, Boulby, words comprise the earliest written Goldsborough, Whitby, Ravenscar, English Christian verse. During the Scarborough, Filey and Flamborough successive waves of invasion there Head. Some of these sites have been were times of strife, and the abbey lost as the cliffs have receded. By was destroyed in ad867. Other small- ad410 the Romans had left Britain, scale rural monastic sites are known. and the coast was clear for wave upon Many early Christian churches were wave of invasions. simple wooden buildings. Some of the earliest carved stone crosses date from Dark Age settlement the 10th century. Saxons, Angles, Danes and other invaders left their mark on the North Norman settlement Walkers follow an old railway trackbed above Rosedale (Walk 30) York Moors, establishing little villages A more comprehensive invasion was and tilling the land, mostly in the mounted by the Normans, who swept nomads, eking out an existence as becoming waterlogged and mossy, dales, as the higher ground had long through the region during the 11th hunter-gatherers some 10,000 years so that tillage became impossible since reverted to scrub. Many of these century. They totally reorganised soci- ago. Swampy lowlands surrounded and scrub moorland developed. Iron settlers were Christian, and in ad657 ety, establishing the feudal system and the uplands, and apart from a few Age people faced more of a struggle a monastery in the Celtic Christian leaving an invaluable insight into the flakes of flint these people left little to survive and had to organise them- trace of their existence. Evidence of selves in defensive promontory forts. the Neolithic settlers who followed Perhaps some of the linear dykes that can be seen in the mounds of stones cut across the countryside date from they heaped over their burial sites, that time, although many structures called barrows, which date back are difficult to date with any degree of to 2000bc. Soon afterwards, from certainty. 1800bc onwards, the Beaker People and Bronze Age invaders moved into Roman settlement the area. They used more advanced The Romans marched through Britain methods of land clearance and tillage, during the first century and founded a and buried their dead in conspicu- city at York. Perhaps the most impor- ous mounds known as ‘howes’. These tant site on the North York Moors people exhausted the land, clearing was Cawthorn Camp near Cropton, too much forest too quickly. Minerals which was used as a military training leached from the thin soils, so that ground. Although Wade’s Causeway the uplands became unproduc- in Wheeldale is often referred to as a Lilla Cross is the oldest Christian monument on the moors (Walk 40) tive. Climate changes led to ground Roman road, it may not be. Hadrian’s

12 13 The North York Moors North York Moors industries state of the countryside through the sheep rearing was developed, leading been influenced by its mineral wealth are the remains of a large-scale chem- vast numbers of settlements and prop- to the large, close-cropped pastures and the burgeoning tourist industry. ical industry that thrived from 1600 to erties listed in the Domesday Book. that feature in the dales. There were At the beginning of the 17th century 1870. The hard-won prize was alum: In return for allegiance to the king, still plenty of woodlands for timber an amazing chemical industry devel- a salt that could be extracted from noblemen were handed vast tracts and hunting, but the moors remained oped to extract highly prized alum certain beds of shale through a time- of countryside and authority over its bleak and barren and were reckoned from a particular type of of shale. This consuming process. inhabitants. Resentment and violence to be of little worth. Early maps and industry lasted two and a half centu- Wherever the shale occurred, it was rife for a time, and the new over- descriptions by travellers simply dis- ries and had a huge impact around was extensively quarried. Millions of lords were obliged to build robust missed the area as ‘black-a-moor’, yet the cliff-bound fringes of the North tons were cut, changing the shape of castles. Many noblemen gifted large it was necessary for people to cross York Moors. From the mid-18th to the landscape, especially along the parts of their estates to religious orders the moors if only to get from place mid-19th centuries, Whitby’s fish- coast. Wood, and in later years coal, from mainland Europe, encouraging to place, and so a network of paths ing industry specialised in whaling, was layered with the shale, and huge them to settle in the area. developed. The monasteries planted and the town benefitted greatly. The piles were set on fire and kept burn- some of the old stone crosses on the 19th century was the peak period for ing for months, sometimes even a Monastic settlement moors to provide guidance to travel- jet production, often referred to as whole year. The burnt shale was then Monasteries and abbeys were lers. This era came to a sudden close Whitby Jet. Railways were built in and soaked in huge tanks of water, a pro- founded in and around the North York with Henry VIII’s dissolution of the around the North York Moors through- cess known as leaching. Afterwards, Moors in the wake of the Norman monasteries in the 16th century. out the 19th century, bringing an the water was drawn off and boiled, invasion, and ruins dating from the increase in trade and allowing easier which required more wood and coal, 12th and 13th centuries still dominate Recent settlement shipment of ironstone from the moors. as well as being treated with such the countryside. Stone quarrying was Over the past few centuries the set- Railways also laid the foundation for odious substances as human urine, important at this time, and large-scale tlement of the North York Moors has a brisk tourist trade, injecting new brought from as far away as London. life into coastal resorts whose trade As crystals of precious alum began to and fishing fleets were on the wane. form, the process was completed with Tourism continues to be one of the a purification stage before the end most important industries in the area, product was packed for dispatch. and tourism in the countryside is very Alum had many uses but was much dependent on walking. chiefly in demand as a fixative for dyes, as it promoted deep colours on cloth, which became colour-fast NORTH YORK MOORS after washing. The Italians had a vir- INDUSTRIES tual monopoly on the trade until the alum shale of Yorkshire was exploited Alum from 1600. However, the local indus- Throughout the North York Moors try went into a sudden decline when National Park huge piles of flaky pink other sources of alum, and more shale have been dumped on the land- advanced dyestuffs, were discovered scape, sometimes along the western from 1850. The long and involved fringes of the Cleveland Hills, but process of quarrying, burning, leach- Whitby and Whitby Abbey as seen from the Whalebone Arch (Walk 44) more especially along the coast. These ing, boiling, crystallising and purifying

14 15 The North York Moors

THE TABULAR HILLS WALK 1 West Ayton, Hackness and the Forge Valley The Tabular Hills stretch along the southern part of the North York Moors National Park. The land rises gently from south to north and is cut by a series of dales that leave tabular uplands between them. The gentle slopes often end abruptly at their northern ends in a series of shapely knolls, or nabs, that look Start/finish Ye Olde Forge Valley Inn, West Ayton, SE 987 847 out towards the rolling moorlands at the heart of the national park. From east Distance 15km (9½ miles) Total ascent/descent 240m (790ft) to west, from Scarborough to Helmsley, the more prominent nabs include Time 5hrs Barns Cliff, Langdale Rigg End, Blakey Topping, Whinny Nab, Levisham Moor, Terrain Easy walking along woodland paths and field paths, as the Nab, Boonhill Common, Birk Nab, Helmsley Bank, Easterside Hill and well as farm tracks and minor roads Hawnby Hill. Prominent dales from east to west include the Forge Valley, Hole Maps OS Landranger 101; OS Explorer OL27 South of Horcum, Newtondale, lower Rosedale, lower Farndale, Sleightholm Dale, Refreshments Ye Olde Forge Valley Inn at West Ayton, East Ayton Lodge Riccal Dale, Ash Dale, Beck Dale and lower Ryedale. Hotel and Denison Arms at East Ayton, Everley Country The rocks that make up the Tabular Hills are seldom exposed but belong House Café is off-route between Mowthorpe and to the Middle Oolite Group in the Corallian series of the Jurassic period and, Hackness, and Hackness Grange Hotel is off-route near hence, are around 170 million years old. They are essentially a limestone and Hackness lime-rich sandstone series, porous enough to allow surface water to drain away Transport Regular Scarborough & District buses serve West and rapidly. In the more deeply cut dales the bedrock is formed from the older East Ayton from Scarborough, Pickering and Helmsley Oxford Clay, which is impervious and supports the flow of rivers and streams. Some areas of the Tabular Hills have been turned over to commercial forestry. The land is very fertile and easily ploughed but the soil is often too thin to sup- port good root crops. However, grain crops such as wheat, barley and oats are The River Derwent once flowed straight from the moors to the sea, but at the grown in rotation, and oilseed rape blazes yellow early in summer. end of the Ice Age its course was blocked and water overflowed, carving out As if to celebrate the distinct nature of these gentle heights, the waymarked the Forge Valley, which was later choked by wildwoods. These trees were Tabular Hills Walk has been established. It traverses the low hills and interven- harvested for charcoal to fuel small ironworks in the 14th century. The River ing dales from the coast at Scalby Mills to the bustling market town of Helmsley, Derwent repeatedly flooded the low-lying , so in the 18th a distance of 80km (50 miles). The signposts and waymarks for the route feature century the was engineered to take the river along its original course directional arrows and a Tabular Hills logo. The route has been designated a to the sea. This walk explores the wooded Forge Valley, takes a look at the regional trail and is an initiative of the North York Moors National Park Authority. Sea Cut and offers the chance to visit the lovely estate village of Hackness. Ten walking routes through the Tabular Hills are described, including two routes around Hackness, three in the Lockton and Levisham area and one each around Hutton-le-Hole, Gillamoor, Rievaulx Moor, Helmsley and Hawnby. Start at Ye Olde Forge Valley Inn at West Ayton. Follow the Some of these take in the distinctive nabs, while others wander more through A170 road across the bridge to East Ayton and turn left the dales. From time to time, on the higher ground, it is possible to look along along a road called Castlegate, signposted for the Forge the range and see how the higher nabs end abruptly, and the High Moors then Valley. Pass the East Ayton Lodge Hotel and walk down stretch northwards into the heart of the North York Moors. the road. Follow the road until a public footpath (not a public bridleway) is signposted on the right, flanked by fencing for a few paces. Walk up a broad woodland path parallel to a deep groove. Turn left near the top of

28 29 The North York Moors Walk 1 – West Ayton, Hackness and the Forge Valley

the wooded slope and follow a path just inside Ruston Cliff Wood, with occasional views out across fields. Pass attractive pantiled stone buildings at Osborne Lodge and walk straight ahead. Fork left downhill, walking straight ahead to pass an information board.

FORGE VALLEY WOODS NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE Towards the end of the Ice Age, around 10,000 years ago, a mass of stagnant ice dammed the broad valley, causing water to form the temporary Lake Hackness. This overflowed and carved the deep, steep-sided Forge Valley. The fields above the valley lie on soft Hambleton Oolite, while its sides are formed from hard Lower Calcareous Grit, and its floor is impervious Oxford Clay. The valley became choked with wildwoods, which in turn provided charcoal for small iron foundries in the 14th century. This is one of the best valley-side mixed deciduous woodlands in Yorkshire.

Continue along the path, eventually reaching a park- ing space at Green Gate. Turn left, then right down a road signposted for Hackness, where there is access to a view- a little, then turn left to walk up a grassy groove along- The Sea Cut uses the point on the left at Hazel Head. Walk down the road to side an old hedgerow. Go through a gate, then turn left original course of the cross Mowthorpe Bridge over the Sea Cut. up to another gate that gives access to Hawthorn Wood. River Derwent from Follow a clear path across and up the wooded slope, then Mowthorpe Bridge THE SEA CUT walk beside a field to reachSuffield Ings farm, at around The River Derwent has its source on Fylingdales Moor, a mere spit and a 160m (525ft). Keep to the right of the buildings as marked throw from the North Sea. It begins by flowing towards the sea, but only 6km and leave along the farm access road. Keep straight on at (4 miles) short of it, the river suddenly swings west and heads far inland. Its a junction, but later, when the track swings right, leave waters eventually spill into the North Sea via the Humber Estuary after a cir- it by following a path down to the left. This goes down a cuitous journey of 240km (150 miles). The Sea Cut, engineered by the distin- wooded valley and passes a crumbling limekiln. When a guished inventor Sir George Cayley (a pioneer in the science of aerodynam- road is reached, turn left; it is hardly necessary to walk Hackness village and ics, amongst other things) in the early 18th century, diverts the headwaters of on the road, since as one path joins it, another heads off Walk 2 are easily  the River Derwent into Scalby Beck, passing floodwater straight into the sea to the left. reached from here. instead of allowing it to inundate the Vale of Pickering. The path climbs a wooded slope, followed by a grassy slope, apparently for no other reason than to provide a fine view of Hackness Hall. Having achieved this aim, the path turns right downhill, crosses a stile and enters a wood, Pass Mowthorpe Farm and walk a little way up the then runs gradually downhill across a slope. Leave the road, then turn right as indicated by a footpath sign. Go wood at another stile and contour across a grassy slope through a kissing gate and turn right to walk downhill overlooking Mill Farm and the Derwent Valley. Turn right

30 31 The North York Moors Walk 1 – West Ayton, Hackness and the Forge Valley

downhill as marked to cross a road, followed by river. You can gain access to a car park across a foot- a nearby footbridge over the River Derwent. bridge, where an information board illustrates local Walk straight ahead alongside a field and wildlife. If you do not require the car park, there is no follow an access road past some cot- need to cross the river, and the duckboard path can be tages in the hamlet of Wrench Green. followed further downstream through the Forge Valley Turn left along a minor road, pass Woods. The woodlands are dense and the undergrowth a junction at Cockrah Foot and is lush, so the route is rather like a jungle trek! keep straight ahead at a junction The duckboard ends suddenly at a gate. Walk marked ‘no through road’ to pass through a narrow meadow between the river and a more houses. wooded slope. Towards the end of the meadow, watch Walk a little way uphill and out for a track heading up to the right. Go through a gate keep left to cross a cattle grid, and follow the grassy track past the tottering 14th-cen- as if to follow the track ahead. tury ruins of Ayton Castle, then continue along a road However, don’t walk along past cottages at Castle Rise. Turn left down Yedmandale the track, but drift slightly left Road to return to the main road and Ye Olde Forge across a pathless grassy slope, Valley Inn at West Ayton. as if heading directly through the valley. Stiles and markers appear only when fences and hedges need crossing, and the route runs roughly par- allel to the River Derwent. Pass the point where the Sea Cut takes water from the river, leaving only a small stream. Walk beside the River Derwent, avoiding muddy patches and gorse by drifting uphill a little. Enter Scarwell Wood, fol- The duckboard lowing a clear riverside path through duckboard path the jungle-like woods that runs parallel to the in the Forge Valley

32 33